CrystalSwap!
by Jeice Lover
Summary: In an alternate universe, the Homeworld Gems are the ones who care for Steven. What sort of differences will this make for both our young hero, and the earth? A collection of drabbles that tells of how the events of Steven's life would be changed were this trio to be his caregivers.
1. Chapter 1

The three gems all looked in different directions, trying to avoid looking at one another. The whole night was a disaster, all because they couldn't keep themselves together in a single fusion. Not even for Steven.

"I can't believe this," Peridot muttered aloud, her bulky arms crossed over her torso. "Just _one_ night was all we needed, and _we_ couldn't even manage _that_." Despite her words, Jasper could hear the accusatory note in the green gem's normally monotone voice.

"Hey! Don't you go dumping this on us!" The larger gem stalked closer towards Peridot, towering over her both physically and in anger. "_We_ weren't the ones who couldn't get through a stupid dinner, just because _someone_ can't handle a little _digestion_!" Peridot pulled her cylandrical fingers closer to her rounded palms as her arms went down to her sides.

"You _know_ I can't stand eating! Just the thought of it, all that... that _sludge_ going down my throat, snaking through my body, and then leaving it, just... _ugh_." A shudder ran through her body. "We could have just said we weren't hungry! We wouldn't have been _lying_! We don't even _need_ to eat!"

"That's not the _point_, Peridot!" Jasper rasped as she bent over to get into the smaller gem's face. "We were doing this for _Steven_, just _one night_ so that we could impress his friend's parents and they could keep getting along! Now things are worse off than before! Maybe if _someone_ knew how to talk to them over the phone!"

"Oh, don't you bring that in-"

"Can't even handle a simple-"

"_**Stop**_!" Both gems halted mid-argument, and turned their heads in Lapis's direction. The diminutive azure gem clasped her hands up near her shoulders, eyes gazing up towards the top of the slope. All the while the other two had been arguing, she had been watching Steven chase after Connie. He seemed to be catching up to her now, they were nearing where the street was up there. "... We shouldn't be blaming each other for all of this, we were _all_ a part of the problem," she sighed. "We all made up Tourmaline, after all. It's just too difficult to make way for everyone's personalities when there's so many to contend with... We should have known that this wouldn't work."

Lapis turned her head from watching the children, and gazed at the Maheswaran parents, who seemed to be arguing amongst themselves. Greg was basically standing there awkwardly, not seeming to know what to do.

"... Maybe it's not too late to talk to 'em?" Peridot and Lapis looked up at Jasper, who was rubbing her neck uncertainly. "I mean, maybe we could still explain the whole thing to them. Probably wasn't the best idea to come to dinner as a giant, six-armed woman anyhow."

"... You might be right," Peridot agreed reluctantly. Lapis smiled hopefully, seeing her two friends begin to agree on a course of action.

"Good, this is good," she said softly as she began to look up at the children on the slope again. "We'll just wait until Steven brings Connie back, and then we can go to the Maheswarans and explain the whole-" Lapis cut herself short with a loud gasp of air.

"What?! What's wrong?!" Jasper asked quickly. Lapis looked as though she was completely frozen in place. However, she managed to break her stupor just enough to point a delicate finger up the hill. The gems followed along its line of sight, and let out their own sounds of shock as they saw the children climb aboard a bus that had pulled up while Lapis had been looking away. In a few moments, they were on board, and the vehicle began rolling away.

"_**Steven!**_" The gems yelled in unison as they saw the bus pull away with their charge and his friend within.

"What?! What's the matter?!" Greg asked, shocked by their sudden cry.

"Steven and Connie just got on a bus!" Lapis answered more loudly than she had intended.

"What?!" The Maheswaran parents were involved as well, now that they heard their daughter's name involved in the conversation. Without a moment to lose, the group of parents and parental figures were up the slope, watching the bus begin to disappear around the bend.

"Wh-what do we do?!" Lapis cried out, wringing her hands. "There's no water here, I can't do anything to stop the bus!"

"Jasper!" Peridot cried. She was looking at the electronic pad that was made up with some of her fingers, her hand trembling erratically. "I can't get a response from the drone I left with Steven! He's overridden my admin controls! _How did he override my admin controls?!_" Her nasally voice had gone up a few pitches, making it almost sound distorted. "You're fast, Jasper! You have to stop them!"

"Hey, not even I'm _that_ fast!" The orange-skinned gem snapped back at the smaller green.

"Well somebody has to do _something_!" Doctor Maheswaran cut in. "My daughter is getting further away as we speak! If that boy lets something bad happen to her, then I swear-!"

_It's a good thing Jasper's too focused to get angry at her_, Lapis couldn't help but think with relief. _But she is right, we have to do something!...Wait! I know!_

"Jasper, Peridot!" The other two gems looked at her as she spoke aloud. "We have to fuse again, all three of us!" They began to protest, but she continued before they could get started. "We need to be big and fast if we want to catch up with that bus, and Tourmaline is the biggest and fastest thing we have! We'll need to hold ourselves together, just until we can manage to catch up to them! For Steven!"

The three gems looked at one another, a spark seeming to pass between their eyes.

"...Alright then," Jasper muttered, fists clenched as she shifted her feet apart. "Let's do this thing."

–

The children huddled close together in one of Tourmaline's huge hands, in the center of the palm as far from one of her gigantic fingers as possible. By the looks of the lights ahead, they were almost back to the restaurant... and, likely, all the trouble they were getting into for this. When they were finally back amongst the adults, the scolding immediately began. The Maheswarans for Connie, and the gems and Greg for Steven.

"I don't even know _where_ to begin young lady," Dr. Maheswaran started, giving her daughter her most intense look.

"Do you have _any idea_ how much trouble you're in!?" The doctor paused when she heard Jasper's raspy tones over by Steven. "What on earth made you think hopping on a bus headed to nowhere was a good idea?! Do you know what could have happened to you?!"

"You could have drowned in the ocean! Gotten into an accident! Cracked your gem!" Lapis threw in, eyes wide with fear of what might have occurred.

"Statistically speaking, there are a _number_ of things that could have happened to you, just by getting on that bus!" Peridot added in.

"Sorry kid, but we're gonna' have to punish you for this," Jasper grunted as she crossed her arms over her chest. "So, I say... no dinner for _ten thousand years_."

"_Ten **thousand**?!_" Steven repeated meekly, eyes wide and fearful.

"Oh, no no, Steven, not that," Lapis cut in, waving off Jasper's threatened punishment. "We're not going to stop you from eating... maybe... no TV for you."

"For ten thousand years," Peridot butted in. The effect was near instantaneous in drawing a reaction from Steven. He immediately began crying about some show he was planning to watch and how awful they were for doing this to him.

"Hey, it's only because we care, bud," Greg reassured him with a pat on the shoulder.

"Wow, I don't think I've ever seen such a masterfully given punishment before." The foursome of guardians looked towards the doctor as she approached them with Connie close behind. "I'm honestly more fond of 'it's for your own good', myself, but this is still very effective."

"And that 'ten thousand years' thing was pretty funny, I have to say," Mr. Maheswaran added in.

"History shows that the usage of negative reinforcement when it comes to behavioral modification in young humans, while not viewed as effective in today's world, still holds its own merits in regard to increasing respect of discipline and authority," Peridot deadpanned her response. He only laughed in response, indicating to her that he really had no idea what she was saying at all.

"Well, I have to say, while we were surprised at what happened this evening, we now see that the two- er, _four_ of you," she corrected herself quickly, "are very responsible and effective caregivers. So... while we _do_ have our reservations... I think it's safe to say that, so long as you remain this responsible when our daughter is under your watch, she and the Universe boy can keep spending time together.

As they watched Steven hug Connie out of the sheer joy of being allowed to be friends again, the gem trio nodded towards each other.

They had done well, for themselves.


	2. Chapter 2

Lapis hummed cheerfully to herself as she held her hands over a bowl of water, gently shifting the liquid molecules back and forth between the space as she controlled it. The large globule of water floated delicately above her, the fish that had been swimming in the bowl swimming obliviously in the new space its water was being shifted into. She was, of course, very careful to be certain that her manipulation of the water wouldn't hurt the scaly creature. Earth creatures were so delicate after all. Had to be very careful, to make certain they didn't break.

"_Waaaaaaaaaaahh!_" Speaking of easily broken things.

"Steven?!" She lost her concentration for a moment and released the water, letting it, and the fish, splash unceremoniously back into the bowl (unharmed, thankfully, for Mr. Splashy). She got up just as he ran into the room, crying and grasping one hand with the other. She knelt onto the floor, skirts floating up before settling down, and he ran right up to her. "Steven, are you alright?! What's wrong with your hand!?"

"_Aaaah. Lapizz_," he voice was nasally due to the runny nose he was currently sporting. "_I wuz outside by de wader, and I daw Jadper pudchig ztuff, ad I waded to try it, too, but then I hit a rock ad dow by thub hurts ad I cadt bove id ad_-"

"Oh, Steven." Lapis murmured, she couldn't stand to see him like this. She slowly reached out her hands towards him. "Here, let me see it." Steven immediately yanked his hand away from her, shaking his head furiously. "Steven, give it here, please." He only shook more furiously.

"_Do! I dod wad you do douch id!_"

"I won't touch it, Steven, I promise," she said soothingly, looking at him with an open expression. "I only want to take a look at it." He looked at her warily for a moment, but at last he held the hand out to her, and placed it gently atop her outstretched hands. Her lips pressed together as she saw the damage. There was no blood, but his knuckles were bruised pretty badly, and his thumb was oddly out-of-shape. Considering he hadn't shown any ability to shapeshift yet, she hardly thought that was intentional. "Oh, Steven," she murmured again, looking at it with a worried expression. "Um... it-it's okay, we can make this all better. " She stood up and went to the fridge-freezer, pulling out a tray of ice cubes that were frozen up top. Then, after she drew some water out of the tap, she put it all into a bowl, and had him stick his hand into it. "This should help numb it a bit. I'm going to go and Peridot and Jasper so that they can help us with this, okay?"

"..._Bokay_," he sniffled quietly, drawing another look of sympathy from Lapis as she briskly made her way to the temple door, intent on getting the other Gems' help with this matter.

–

Steven sighed as he looked at his bandaged and fixed up hand. Peridot had given him a sever tongue-lashing when Lapis had called her for help with his injured hand. Going on about how dumb it was that he had punched a rock, and how he was more delicate than them, how badly did it hurt, he should never do something stupid like that again. Lapis had tried to soften the blows, but they still made him feel bad. He _should_ have known better, it was just... he'd wanted to see if he was as strong as _her_.

"Hey, Steven." Speaking of her, there was Jasper now, climbing up the stairs that led to his bed.

"Hi, Jasper," he sighed. He scooted over as she approached, leaving room for her to sit down if she wanted. She did, and the bed creaked and sagged under her weight, but it still held.

"So, I heard from Peridot that you messed up your hand pretty bad, huh?"

"A little." He avoided her gaze, preferring to look at his hand rather than see a look of disapproval from her. "Peridot and the orbs patched it up for me, though."

"So I see," the orange Gem nodded. "So, what's all this I hear about you punching a rock because you saw me do it?"

"Well... yeah, that _is_ why I did it." He felt kind of stupid to admit it to her now, though. "I was walking on the beach, and I saw you doing some of your exercise stuff by punching the rocks. You looked really cool while you were doing it, so I wanted to try it, too. But then I did, and it hurt really bad and my thumb got broken..." He trailed off into silence, worrying that she was going to scold him over this, too. She usually did when he did really stupid stuff, and this felt _really_ stupid.

"...How did you punch that rock?" Well that wasn't a question he had expected to hear. He looked up, but her expression told him that she was serious.

"Um... kind of like this, I guess?" He held up his uninjured hand, balling it just about the same way as he had when he'd injured the one, then swung it forward just as forcefully, throwing himself slightly off-balance in the process. Jasper looked it over critically, eyes narrowed. "Wh-why?"

"Well, now I think I see what you did wrong," Jasper nodded. "See this?" She placed one of her enormous hands over his, pointing to his thumb. "You're not supposed to put your thumb into a fist, it'll be too much force when you hit what you're going for." She carefully moved his thumb so that, rather than being inside the fist, it was just resting on the side of it. "See? You wanna' put it on the side like this, otherwise you'll break it like you did. And you don't have to put so much force behind your punch, unless you _know_ you can knock the other guy out in one hit. Just _punch_," she whipped one arm out, then snapped it back to herself, "And pull back, fast. Hit the other guy, and you don't have to throw yourself off-balance when you do it."

"Oooooh," Steven looked at her with awe, he hadn't thought you could punch someone like that. He only saw all those movies where big, buff guys threw themselves into every punch.

"But, most importantly, kid," she smirked as she rubbed his head, "you might wanna' wait a bit before you graduate up to being a rock-puncher. Maybe stick to these guys for now," she picked up a stuffed bear from his bead. Steven gasped in disbelief.

"No! Not ceremony bear!" He snatched the toy out of her hand. "He never did anything to anybody!" Jasper snorted with amusement, then patted the little bear on the head.

"Fair enough."


	3. Chapter 3

"_Don't lie to me , Rose! Stop pretending like you care! I can see it now, after so long! You don't care about us! You don't care about __**me**__!_"

What in the world was going on between those two? Jasper hunkered down as best as she could manage behind the bulky boulder she was hiding behind, listening in on the conversation taking place at the hilltop. Well, not that she really had to do much 'listening in', with all the screaming you could have probably heard them from miles away. Just what in the world was this all about? Rose Quartz was talking about this planet they were on, that the new Kindergarten was being built on, and that Pearl was screaming at her. Didn't she know who she was talking to?! This was Rose Quartz, one of the best tacticians in the known universe! Who was this Pearl to speak to her like that?!

"Pearl, my Pearl, please listen to me," she barely heard Rose say.

"Don't, Rose! Just don't! If... if you think this stupid planet is more important than everything we have, then _fine_, but don't pretend like you can justify this! Just... just please leave me alone!"

There were muffled, hurried footsteps across the grass, and Jasper realized that the Pearl was running in her direction. She crammed herself into the shadows of the boulder as best as she could, trying to hide from one of the Gems she was eavesdropping on. By some miracle, either the shadows were at the right angle or the Pearl was blinded by her free-flowing tears, she went unseen, and after the pale-skinned Gem ran out of sight, she heard the sounds of the Warp Pad and knew that she was gone.

Jasper exhaled a heavy breath she hadn't been aware she'd been holding, and stared after the Pearl. What was all _that_ about?

"... Well now, what are you doing here?" On instinct, Jasper jumped when she heard another voice, and found herself face to face with Rose Quartz herself, looking right at her.

"R-Rose!" she stuttered quickly, looking left to right as if searching for some excuse for her presence in her surroundings. "I-I was just... you... and that Pearl- and-!"

"It's alright, you're not in trouble, Jasper." She was taken aback, confused at how _the_ Rose Quartz knew her name. "You were listening in on our conversation, weren't you?" Jasper stiffened up a bit, but, knowing she couldn't deny the question, reluctantly nodded.

"I heard it, but... I didn't understand what it was you were saying," she muttered. "You don't want to go back to Homeworld? You want to stay here, and fight other Gems _off_ of this planet?" Although she knew the answer already, Rose's easy nod astounded her. "But, _why_? What about the Kindergarten, and the new Gems we need to make! We can't just-"

"Jasper," Rose interrupted, smoothly but firmly. "I understand that you're confused, and curious, and you can't quite grasp what's going on, but I have to tell you this now. What I'm going to do, beginning this rebellion, Yellow Diamond will not stand for it. You're a young, rising Gem, you'll have opportunities on Homeworld to get to high ranks. If you know anything more about this, it could jeopardize that for you, and put you in harm's way if they decide to punish you for your knowledge. For your own sake, I can't tell you anything about it. You already know I plan to rebel, but please, for your own sake, don't ask any more about my plans for this. I couldn't stand knowing that you got hurt all because of your young curiosity. So, please... go back, Jasper. Forget what you've heard."

With this said, Rose began walking away, gracefully and almost silently padding over the grass.

"Rose... why are you doing this?" Rose Quartz stopped as she was about to pass her, so the two Gems stood side-by-side, facing in opposite directions. "You're a brilliant tactician, a great leader. You wouldn't do something this serious without a reason... So... _why_?"

"...This planet... it's something special, Jasper," Rose murmured in those gentle tones of hers. "There are so few planets in all of the universe that are anything like this one. There's plants, animals, so many things that are growing and thriving... and so full of _life_. This planet creates _life_, Jasper. It doesn't need to steal it, it _creates_ it. New, healthy, beautiful life, and it just keeps on growing. To put a Kindergarten here... and drain away all of that for such a selfish cause... it would just be such a waste. I can't stand by and let such a wonderful planet meet that sort of fate... This planet is something special, Jasper," she turned her head, and smiled warmly at her, "and it's something I'm willing to fight for, and protect."

The Gems stood still, Jasper still staring straight ahead, and Rose looking at her with that warm gaze.

"... I've always respected you, Rose," Jasper rasped softly. Times like this, she wished that her voice were less grating, and more gentle like this pink-colored Gem beside her. "You're a brilliant leader, I respect your tactics and I know you're an amazing Gem. If you have a reason to defend a planet like this, it has to be something great." She lowered her head, and stared at the grass beneath her feet, so simple and green, but it was as if she was looking at things through a different viewpoint. Rather than a meaningless carpet of green, she noticed each individual blade, rooted into the ground, and living. "To live, fight, and die on the battlefield beside you would probably be the greatest honor any Gem could ever ask for... especially one like me."

"I wouldn't want that," Rose shook her head gently. "I would want the Gems on my side, those who believed in this planet, to fight and live. That's what I want this fight for, not death, life."

"..." Jasper stared down at the grass, then slowly took in a breath, and at last turned to face Rose Quartz. "... This is going to be a big war, Rose Quartz. Lots of Gems are going to die, all for the sake of believing in this planet, and you... " To Rose's surprise, Jasper suddenly lowered herself to one knee, and rested her arm across her leg, bowing her head to the ground. "I... would be honored, Rose Quartz, if I could be one of those Gems."

Jasper knelt silently, letting moments passed before she dared to open her eyes. When she did so, she found, to her shock, Rose's open palm facing upwards, held out towards her. When her gaze followed the path of the arm, upwards, she found Rose, smiling.

"And I, Jasper, would be honored, if you were to fight for the earth with us." Though aghast, Jasper found herself taking Rose's hand, and allowed herself to be helped to her feet again.

"I... would be honored, to be able to fight under you," Jasper murmured.

"No Jasper," Rose smiled still, and held her hand firmly. "Fight _with _ me... as an equal, and a friend."


	4. Chapter 4

_Hey! I think I found something over here!_

Why... why was it, when she was finally able to rest, to close her eyes to all that she was forced to witness in these wars, she was picked up again? She could feel the object she was trapped inside being moved, and all she could think desperately was that she wanted to be let out. But she had no way to communicate. All she could do was replay what she had seen, and there was no way she could relay a message that way. It was hopeless.

_What is it? What did you find?_

A new voice, something smoother and more sweet than the gruff voice of the first person who picked her up from this rubble.

_Some kinda' mirror I think. Looks gem-powered_

_Let me see._ There was a small motion, as she felt her mirror being passed from one Gem to the other, and she sighed within herself. She hated that feeling, of being handled like a mere thing. She was a _person_. Why could no one see that?! _...Oh, poor thing, she's trapped in there. And look, there's a crack in her gem._ Wait, this person knew she was here? Was she going to be let out?!

_So what do we do with it, then?_ The raspy-voiced one asked, not really seeming to understand the weight of this situation.

_We're going to let her out, of course. Just hold on a moment, dear, I'm going to let you out of there._

It all happened so quickly after that. She felt a pulling sensation, and her gem being drawn out of the mirror she was trapped in. It was such a big strain, it evens started to hurt. And how badly it hurt!

Then, all of a sudden, it was over. She felt an odd sensation, a strange feeling of being surrounded by empty space, and then, she realized that this was freedom. Concentrating her energy, she formed her body, growing arms, legs, creating her clothing. And, at last, she was collapsed to the ground, clutching the earth between her fingers and panting from the exertion. It shouldn't have been this difficult normally, but the crack in her gem didn't make this an easy process.

"Urgh..." Slowly, she turned her head, and saw the two Gems towering over her, one pink, an the other orange. "You... you set me free... thank you." She knew the two now. Rose Quartz, and a Jasper. The two main fighters in this war, leaders of the rebellion. She should hate them, for starting this, and yet, she was grateful. Though they were on the enemy's side, they were the ones who had freed her, not her so-called comrades who had stuck her in a mirror and used her as an object when her usefulness as a fighter was lost with the crack in her gem. Question now was... what was she planning on doing to her?

"Your gem is cracked, poor thing," she heard the pink one with the smooth voice murmur sadly. A large, soft, gentle hand was placed on her shoulder. "Hold still." She prepared to ask, when she felt something wet and warm land atop her gem. There was nothing for a long moment, but then she felt a change. A new energy soared through her body, filling her with warmth from her toes to her fingertips, and all the way into her gem. Jagged edges became smooth, and gaps became filled and healed over. At last, she felt _whole_ again... and she knew.

"... You fixed it... You fixed my gem," she whispered. She couldn't believe this, how was it even possible?! No Gem had the ability to fix broken gems! None! And yet, here she was, in the presence of a Gem who, beyond all odds, _had_. She had _healed a broken gem_. "... _How?_"

"That's a question for later," the pink Gem said by way of an answer, not wanting to . She offered a hand down, and Lapis took it, gratefully accepting the help to her feet. It had been quite some time, but she righted herself quickly, and looked around. From inside her prison, she hadn't realized just how devastated the landscape was, with chunks of earth torn haphhazardly from the ground, and plant life was strewn carelessly all about. "For now, we need to get to a safe place."

"Safe... safe from wha-?" She let out a soft yelp as the ground suddenly shook. The orange Gem with the gravelly voice leaped up, her gem forming a helmet-like structure with a hard protrusion on the front as she growled at the source. From behind the wall of dust the impact, a large Gem arose, a hammer-like weapon in hand.

"Stay behind me!" the orange Gem, yelled. "Rose, you can take care of the mirror Gem, I've got this!"

"W-wait..." Lapis gasped as she saw the diamond emblem on the Gem that had just landed, then looked between the ones who had saved her. "But, you're... you're both rebels!" Her head pounded with the sudden revelation. "You're rebels... but _you're_ the ones who saved me?! Why?!" She backed away, hands clasped before her, and she bowed her head.

"What?! You accepted help from those rebels?! You little _traitor_!" Lapis yelped as the hammer-wielding Gem knocked away the helmeted orange one, and leaped towards her. As she had no water, Lapis found herself utterly vulnerable, and had no choice but to cower and wait for the blow that would send her back into her Gem, and then the crack of it breaking. However, there _was_ a poof, but it was not her own. When she dared to open her eyes, a small, magenta gem, the same color as the hammer-wielder, lay on the ground before her.

"Because you were a Gem in need, that's all the reason we needed." Lapis looked up, and the pink Gem stood there, a pink shield in one hand, and a sword in the other. "And you're _still_ a Gem in need. And we're willing to help you, even if the Homeworld Gems aren't. If you need it, then we will protect you, I promise."

Lapis could only stare, was this really too good to be true? Could she trust them? Could she afford not to? She had been abandoned by her own kind, left on a battlefield like some useless piece of junk, and then attacked, only to be saved by the Gems who had been called enemies in the first place... Was she really in the right place to deny their help? With all of this, there was only one thing she could say.

"... Thank you."


	5. Chapter 5

"_Uugh..._" Peridot grunted as she pulled herself clumsily out of the rubble, holding a hand against her triangular gem on her forehead. Just what had happened... Oh, that was right. The rebellion Gems had broken into the Kindergarten facility, they were under attack, and she had been hit with falling rubble hard enough to destroy her physical form. Her gem wasn't damaged, thankfully, but it had been a pretty solid hit that took her hours just to reform from. The only question now was, what had happened? Who had won the fight?

"Find anything else down here, Lapis?"

"No, Jasper, nothing yet."

A Jasper and a Lapis Lazuli? What were they doing here? She didn't remember any of those sorts of gems assigned to this facility. Unless... _oh no_. Her entire body tensed, Peridot carefully stepped around the rocks, hoping that, if she could tip-toe her way out, she could get out of here without getting caught. She had just reformed this body for goodness sakes, she didn't want to have to go through that process again.

"And just where d'you think _you're_ going?" Peridot let out a squeal as she was suddenly grabbed around the torso and lifted up off the ground. She flailed her limbs wildly, struggling in an attempt to free herself.

"What do you think you're doing?! Put me down! Put me down this instant you giant clod!" she snapped, flopping about in the other's arms like a netted trout. "Put me down or you're going to regret this! When reinforcements get here, you are going to be _so_-"

"Reinforcements? For you?" The orange Gem snorted loudly at the threat. "Yeah right, good luck with that wish. All of your little Homeworld friends bailed out of here a while ago. This Kindergartern's a total bust and they know it. They were just smart enough to get out of here before we could catch 'em."

"...G-gone?" Peridot stuttered, halting her helpless flailing to strain her neck so she could look at the Jasper holding her. "Y-you must be mistaken. This Kindergarten is vital to the mission, they wouldn't have just _abandoned_ it." Because if they had abandoned _it_ so easily, then what did that say about them abandoning _her_?

"Yes, gone," the Lapis Lazuli nodded, coming up to her. "Every single one of them. Except you, that is." In all honesty, both Gems were surprised that there was still a Peridot left here, surely they couldn't have left her here to cover their tracks? Peridots were technicians and repair Gems, not usually suited for fighting. Did they leave her behind by mistake? By the way she was slumping in Jasper's arms, eyes wide with disbelief, it seemed so. This Peridot had been abandoned by her allies, left to the mercy of her enemies.

"Jasper? Lapis?" A gentle voice called down the way, and a pink-hued Gem made her way down to them. _Rose Quartz_. The leader of the rebellion herself. "What does it look like down here? Did you find anything?"

"Yeah, we found this," Jasper grunted, turning to show her the Peridot she had captured. "What should we do with her?" Rose looked at the green Gem, regarding her carefully for a minute before she spoke.

"You're a Peridot, right? What are you still doing here. I don't think they would have left you here to fight us... Did you get left behind?" Somehow hearing someone else say it aloud, especially the leader of the enemy forces, made the sting run deeper. Peridot hung her head, and nodded weakly. What was the point in denying it? She had been abandoned, left to be crushed by the enemy. "I see..."

"So, what are you planning for me?" Peridot asked resignedly. "Are you going to destroy my physical form, then store me away somewhere as a prisoner forever?" Or worse? Would they break her gem, and destroy her completely.

"... No, we won't," Rose Quartz said simply. Peridot looked up at her in confusion. "We are not monsters, Peridot. We aren't going to destroy you after you've been abandoned like this. We will keep you held for a while, but you need to decide what it is you're going to do after that. If you'll change your mind about the Earth, you'll need to do it quickly, because the Homeworld Gems will be leaving shortly. Think and choose wisely, Peridot... Jasper." She looked at her and nodded. "Take her to the temple and put her in a holding cell, if you'd please."

"Yes ma'am," the orange Gem rasped. "Come on." She hefted the Peridot in her arms and carried her along, towards their temple, where or whatever that was. All the while, Peridot thought. What would she do next...


	6. Chapter 6

Another day, another few hours of chalking her complex equations for improving her robonoids in the main area of the temple house. She honestly didn't see why they needed it. It was a human construct of feeble wood that only covered up the warp pad area, and then some. Apparently they needed it for Steven... or whatever it was they called the thing that had taken Rose away from them.

The one good thing that she liked in this place was the portrait of their pink leader, hanging a ways above the front door. Occasionally, she paused in her work, just long enough to take a breath and remember their times, led by this magnificent, warrior Gem... She missed that.

The door slammed open suddenly, interrupting her tranquility, and she sharply turned back to the blackboard, scribbling madly, trying to make it look like she had been working. It was just Greg barging in, but she felt like she had been caught if someone walked in on her paused in her work like that.

"Hello, Gregory," she greeted flatly. The human sounded as though he had been running, he was holding a familiar little bundle in his arms.

"H-hey Peridot," he greeted, sounding rushed. "Hey, listen, do you know where the others are?"

"Yes," she replied without looking up. "Jasper is out on a mission trying to catch the Stone of Eternal Falling, and Lapis is in her room."

"Ooh good. Hey, listen, I need to run out and do a thing really quick. Can you ask Lapis to watch Steven for me? I promise I'll be back in a few hours, fast as I can." Peridot sighed heavily, seeing him hop from foot to foot.

"Alright, I'll let her know he's here," she said. Lapis would always accept the task of looking after Steven. She loved all those organic creatures when they were in miniature.

"Thanks Peridot, you're a lifesaver! See you guys later!" Peridot held in her scoff until after he had left. Really, what did a human like that know about life-threatening situations? It was just another petty human worry. She spared a glance at little Steven, already rolled out of his blanket and looking about curiously from where he sat on the couch. Sighing dramatically, Peridot put down her chalk and started to go to the door to their rooms, to call Lapis out. However, before she could, the azure Gem was just rushing out. "Oh, good, you're here Lapis. Greg just came by and asked-"

"Oh, hey Peridot," Lapis greeted quickly, sounding distracted. "Sorry, can't talk. There's a pod of dolphins passing by and I need to run and give them a safe route around the fishing boats. There are babies with them, can't let any of them get caught in the nets."

"Um, about that-"

"If Jasper asks, that's where I've gone! Don't wait up!" She rushed out the front door, leaving Peridot stunned from her sudden exit. However, she recovered quickly and ran to the door.

"Wait! Lapis! Don't go! Greg just brought Steven and-!" It was too late. By the time she was at the door, Lapis had already gotten to the ocean shore, and had been enveloped by the waves, leaving behind only foam and sand. "_Lapis!_ Don't leave me here with him!" Stunned, she gazed out at the empty beach, only after a many good seconds had passed did she manage to step back and close the door, turning to face the living room. As she stood there, staring at the room, she saw the little Steven still on the couch. And the realization hit her.

"... I'm in charge of him," she whispered. "I'm responsible for taking care of this... _Steven_." All at once, she pressed her artificial appendages to her head and let out a low wail. "What were they thinking?! They can't leave him alone with me! I have no idea how to take care of mini humans! That's Lapis's skill! Or Jasper's, maybe! Not _me_! I don't know anything about this! What am I supposed to do?!" She looked at the little human. He seemed to be content, gurgling and sucking on his own toes. She took a slow breath in, then exhaled.

"C-come on, Peridot. He's one little human. Y-you can handle this," she chuckled nervously. "If you can take down a giant monster, then you can handle this." Her chest swelled, and a bit of confidence entered her voice. "Y-yeah, that's right. I have this. I can handle this."

–

About thirty minutes later, Peridot had her hands clutched to her head again, listening to the little Steven wail about something.

"Uuurgh! What is wrong with you?! Why do you keep screaming! You're almost as bad as a Wailing Stone!" she exclaimed. She covered her ears, trying to calm herself. Why was she screaming back? He couldn't understand what she was saying, Lapis said he wasn't old enough to communicate verbally yet. A deep inhalation was taken, then let out again.

"Alright Peridot, it's okay. You can do this," the green gem quietly encouraged herself. "Let's just, umm... see what the problem here is..." She gingerly picked up Steven, while the little dark-haired human cried and wriggled about crankily. Scrunching up her face, she put her nose close to his bottom and took a quick sniff.

Well, at the very least, there was no disgusting odor. So this wasn't the sort of situation she would have to wipe up and change his diaper with. But what else could be bothering him, then... Let's see, what other types of issues did human younglings have? He was too energetic to be sick. Not hot or cold enough for it to be that sort of cause...

"... Do you need to ingest nutrients, little... Steven?" Well, it was the best idea she had. Now the question was, how was one meant to feed a little human? He didn't have teeth, so he couldn't chew and ingest foods like Greg. She had seen Lapis and Greg feed him liquid out of sort of a tube, but she didn't even know what they put into it. Some sort of white liquid? Perhaps it was time to look to more human resources for this.

Carefully putting Steven down on the couch, she arranged her 'fingers' into a rectangle and formed a screen with them. She had long ago figured out how to connect to the internet this way, and thus was able to search through human information-finding networks.

"Let's see now," she muttered quietly. "How... to...feed... human... infants." She scrolled through the results for about a moment before finding an official-looking human source. "Ah, here we go." She opened it up and read through it. "In order to feed the baby, cradle it in a comfortable position to hold it in your arms, supporting the neck if it is still young... Alright, don't see what that has to do with it, but..." She read on more quietly, only the occasional mutter to some of the things she read.

However, when she saw how the article showed a mother was meant to feed her baby, she intook this new information with a look of horror on her face, and looked downwards at herself.

"So humans have these things so that they can... okay, _no_," she said firmly to herself. "I am _not_ doing that. Come on, there has to be something else here. Lapis and Greg don't feed him that way. They do it from that...nutrient tube." She scrolled down quickly, hoping to find something else here. "Mmmmh... , what's this?" She leaned in and peered closely at the information. " Mmm... 'if the 'natural' method is not feasible for whatever reason, then powdered formula can be used as a replacement... mixing depends on formula instructions...' Alright, I think I have this now," she managed a bit of a nervous smile. "I just need to mix up some of this 'formula' and and find a feeding tube, and I can give it to Steven. So I won't have to do... that other thing."

With a small shudder at the thought of what she had avoided having to figure out how to accomplish, she got to work. Keeping an ear out for the fussy infant, whom she had placed on the carpet for the time being. After a bit of searching, she managed to come up with a plastic bottle with the oddly-shaped rubber tip, and a tin cylinder labeled 'baby formula' with a cartoonish teddy bear etched on the label.

"Okay, I have the formula, and a 'bottle'," she reassured herself. "First step accomplished. Now for these instructions..." She peered at the words and set to work once more. To get lukewarm water, she set some of her clockwork robonoids to heat up water in a pot, and to stop around 90 degrees farenheit. Not too hot, not too cold. At the right temperature, it was removed from the heat, correct formula amount added to it, and stirred until properly mixed. At which point she put it into the bottle and brought it to Steven.

"Alright, little human. Here's your nutrients. Please stop your wailing already." She held the bottle to him, waiting. It didn't take long. Very quickly he had grabbed it in his pudgy little hands, and began drinking the milk, quiet at last. "Uugh, finally," Peridot groaned, sinking back against the couch. "Alright, that wasn't so bad, Peridot. You handled yourself. You're doing this."

She closed her eyes just a moment, and when she opened them, she found herself looking at the portrait of rose again. There was a perfect view of the portrait from where she sat, why had she not known about this before? Looking at Rose, she started wondering. Just what would the wise Gem leader have done? Rose could handle anything, would even a task like this be so easy for her?

"Rose..." she murmured, gazing forlornly at the portrait.

"Woe?" She looked at Steven, who had finished his bottle and held it in both hands, and was gazing at her rather intently. "Woe?"

" 'woe'?... Do you mean 'Rose'?" she asked incredulously. The baby's face brightened as she spoke to him.

"Woe! Woe!" he cheered, throwing his little hands up.

"Urgh, can't even talk right," Peridot groaned. "Listen to me, Steven. Her name isn't 'woe', it's 'Rose'. _Ro-suh_. Can you say that correctly?"

"Wooo... su?"

"_Rooose_," Peridot repeated slowly, holding her fingers in front of his pudgy face.

"Wooose." She groaned, defeated, and pressed her hand to her forehead.

"Alright, never mind. If that's the best you can manage," she sighed.

–

"Hey Peridot, I'm back," Lapis hailed as she entered the room. "Sorry I took so long, the fishermen were spread out far today. How are your equations coming along?" The blue Gem paused in the middle of the room when she sat Peridot with Steven, the two of them on the couch while Peridot sat absently and let Steven play with her detached fingers. "Steven? Peridot, what's he doing here? Is Jasper looking after him again?"

"No. _I_ was looking after him," Peridot grumped. "Greg dropped him off here just before you left. I tried to get your attention, but you weren't listening because of your dolphin situation." She huffed, picking up Steven and holding him out to Lapis. "Here. I spent three hours of my time looking after him. I hope you're happy." She would never admit she had actually found a bit of peace spending that time with little Steven.

"Oh. I'm sorry, Peridot. I wasn't paying attention. I hope he wasn't too much of a bother to you." She hefted Steven in her arms, smiling at him. "Hey, Steven. Did you enjoy your time with Peridot? Or was she being too much of a frumpy grump?" Peridot let out a groan. She was making that stupid kissy face at him again. Why did they always do that with little humans? It made no sense. Suddenly, Steven started gesturing to the portrait, giggling and making little sounds. "Oh? What is it, Steven? Something up there? You like the pretty picture?" The baby giggled, smiling brightly.

"Wose! Wose!" Lapis gasped loudly and suddenly, catching Peridot off-guard.

"What? What is it? What's wrong?" Peridot questioned quickly.

"His first word!" Lapis cried suddenly. "Peridot, Steven's just said his first words! This is amazing!" Lapis laughed aloud, putting Steven above her head and spinning in about three graceful circles before pulling him back down again. She was still laughing and holding the baby close to her chest when Greg walked in on the scene.

"Hey, what's going on here? Some sort of party?" he joked. But then jumped when Lapis suddenly got up in his face.

"Greg! Greg, you'll never believe it! Steven's just said his first word!"

"What, for real?!" Lapis turned Steven in her arms so he was facing the portrait, and pointed a finger at it.

"Hey, Steven. Who's that up there? Can you tell your dad who's up there?"

"Wose! Wose!" Little Steven cried out, giggling. The Gem and human instantly let out squeals of happiness, causing Peridot to recoil from the sound. She crossed her arms over her chest, looking at the two of them incredulously.

"I don't see what the big deal is. All humans can vocalize. And he's not even saying Rose's name right. I tried to teach him how to say it correctly, but he wouldn't-" Another squeal from Lapis cut her off, and both she and Steven were right there in her face again.

"Peridot! This is so big right now! It's _so_ important when human babies learn how to say their first word, and you were the one to teach Steven his!"

"I was?" The green Gem blinked, dumbfounded at this information. Was it really such an amazing thing that she had done? She lowered her gaze to Steven, still clutched in Lapis's arms. His wide eyes had stars in the middle, just as Rose's used to have when she was so happy... The baby stuck out his hand, placing it on her chest suddenly.

"Peah-dot," he fumbled his lips, attempting to form her name. Lapis inhaled sharply, but the baby only giggled. "Peah-dot! Peah-dot!" Both Greg and Lapis were squealing this time, excited so greatly by this.

"Oh my gosh! His _second_ word! His second word so soon after his first!" Lapis exclaimed. Then a gasp. "We have to record this! Greg, you have a camera, right?!" Lapis and Greg began chatting rapidly, planning on video and voice recording and everything they could conceive to capture the moment.

Meanwhile, Peridot was left there, stunned. Slowly, one of her hands came up and pressed against her chest, right where Steven and his teeny tiny hand had pressed against. Before she knew it, a small smile had formed on her lips, and she could feel just a bit of moisture well up in her eyes.


	7. Chapter 7

Lapis Lazuli poked her head into the cotton candy clouds of Rose's room, cautious, just in case she might need to turn around and come back later. As it so happened, Rose had been looking in the direction she had popped up in. Seeing that she had been noticed, she opened her mouth to give a greeting, but stopped when Rose put a finger up to her lips.

"Shh," the pink-haired Gem whispered shushed her, and pointed a finger down. "He's asleep." Lapis looked, and saw Greg lying there, asleep on a plush futon that Rose had caused the clouds to form under him. Rose herself was sitting in a large, plush chair, looking comfortable and content.

"Oh, sorry," Lapis whispered as she realized that she had walked in on them relaxing together. "I can come back later if-"

"No, it's alright, come in," Rose murmured, beckoning her over. "Just stay quiet, so we don't disturb him." Lapis nodded, and tip-toed her way over, her bare feet making no sound as she stepped over the light, airy clouds. By the time she had gotten to Rose, the leader had formed a plush chair just like hers, right across from her. Lapis seated herself gracefully in the softness, her long skirt billowing slightly upwards as she made the motions of lowering herself into the chair. "So, come for a visit?"

"S-something like that," Lapis shrugged. "It may sound kind of silly, but... I wanted to see how you and... him, were doing." The way she was looking at Rose's rounded belly, the pink Gem knew she wasn't talking about Greg.

"We're both doing fine, thank you," Rose smiled. She placed her hand over the swell, no doubt feeling the little life within her. "It shouldn't be long now, maybe another couple of months. He's so active, and he feels so excited. I know that he must be so eager to meet everyone."

Lapis gazed over their leader, most especially the spot where, supposedly, a new life was developing. Though nowhere near as old as Rose Quartz, Lapis could boast of having a good many millenea under her belt. However, in all of her time, this was still so new to her. The idea of a Gem forming a new life, just as organic creatures did.

"...Rose?" She hesitated, wondering if she dared to ask her question. However, her leader's attention was fully on her now, so she made herself go on. "What... what is it like, having a baby inside of you?" The question didn't sound near as great as it had in her head now that it was out. "I mean, I know that humans and earth animals have babies, that's how they reproduce. But... no Gem has ever had one before, what with how most new Gems are made and all. Like... is it heavy? Does it feel strange? Does it hurt?... Can you really feel him?"

Rose was quiet a moment, pondering the blue Gem's questions.

"It's... interesting," she said at last. She put her hand over her belly again, feeling where little Steven was slowly growing. "It's like... carrying something very delicate. Something very weak by our standards. I know that I love him, and I want to protect him because of how small and weak he is. But... I can _feel_ his vitality. The way he kicks, how big he's growing. Steven wants so badly to be out in the world, no matter how comfortable he is inside... I can't wait for him to see it all. I know he's going to love the Earth."

Lapis listened, entranced by Rose's words. Was it really so amazing, having a little life grow inside of you? Without realizing what she was doing, she had reached out a hand towards Rose. Flushing a deep blue, she pulled back again, but Rose took hold of her wrist.

"It's alright," Rose chuckled softly. Slowly, she guided Lapis's hand, and rested it against her belly. She held her there a moment, Lapis could feel her warm skin under her palm.

Then, it came. The smallest of nudges from inside.

The blue Gem took in a quick breath, a warmth rose suddenly in her chest. Even when Rose let go of her wrist, she didn't take her hand away. She held it there, and felt another kick against her hand, harder. More energetic, but not something to warn her away. It was like... with how tiny it was, and how weak, there were so few ways it could express its desires. These kicks, they were how Steven, within Rose, was saying hello. That he couldn't wait to meet her soon.

Lapis could feel a wetness on her cheeks, and she started as she realized that she was crying. She pulled back and wiped at her tears, embarrassed. Rose only smiled good-naturedly, and said nothing about her tears.

"I... I don't know what to say," Lapis murmured, pulling the water away from her face and letting it fall to the ground. "I... I can't even imagine what it must be like. To have something like that..." Lapis looked down at herself, and pressed a hand over her own stomach, slender and flat. What would it be like, to have your body change so much to accommodate another life? To feel something growing within that you could feel so much love for...

"Lapis." She looked up again, and saw Rose looking at her. "Do you care about Steven? Would you be alright with taking care of him?"

"Would I... of course!" Lapis exclaimed, realizing only too late that she was too loud. Luckily for her, though, Greg seemed to be sleepy, so he simply rolled over, as if he hadn't heard her at all. "I mean... I love all life on Earth, and humans. Plus it would be _your_ baby, Rose. I would be happy to take care of him, as much as you need."

"...I'm happy to hear it." Rose smiled, small stars in her eyes as she looked at the blue Gem. She placed a hand on Lapis's slim shoulder, a serene expression on her face. "You're going to do such a good job with it, too, Lapis. I know you will." Lapis smiled, her heart swelling from both the praise, and the thought that she would get to help raise a human baby. She had helped with baby dolphins and otters before, but with a human baby... especially one that would be their own leader's... Lapis smiled, placing a hand over Rose's belly again, feeling that same little kick.

"I can't wait to meet him," Lapis smiled, closing her eyes as she felt the little nudges of his kicks.

"And I'm sure he can't wait to meet you."


	8. Chapter 8

Lapis hummed gently as she sat at the shoreline, making certain that the shade of the cliffs would be blocking the most of the harsh sun from little Steven's head. Humans really did have such delicate skin.

Greg had left her in charge of babysitting Steven, as usual, while he worked at the car wash. It just wouldn't be practical for him to try and watch the two month old while trying to work his business at the same time. So he left the boy in what he knew would be good hands. Not that Peridot and Jasper were of much help anyhow. Peridot had grown more evasive of contact with other people, if that were even possible, since Steven had been born and Rose had... vanished. Jasper... she didn't really know what to make of her. She knew that she occasionally caught the orange Gem staring from a distance as she or Greg held Steven, but never said anything.

It didn't matter much to her, though. Unlike them, she didn't place any blame on the baby for Rose no longer being with them. She missed their leader, for certain, but it wasn't Steven's fault. And she had made a promise to Rose that she would take care of him, after all. If there was one thing she always kept close to heart, it was her promises.

"Hey, Lapis." The blue Gem looked up, startled at the sudden gruff voice. She hadn't even heard Jasper approaching, she was so wrapped up with her thoughts and Steven and the gentle sounds of the waves on the sand.

"Oh, hello Jasper," she greeted in a whisper.

"What're you doing out here?"

"Not much, really," she responded, smiling down at the infant she cradled in her arms. "I just thought I'd bring Steven out here for his nap. The weather is nice today, and it's nice and peaceful out here on the beach. Just the breeze and the tide." Lapis sighed peacefully, gazing out over the horizon."Steven just drifts right off to sleep when I bring him out here and sing to him."

"I see..." Jasper rumbled, crossing her arms over her chest so her hands didn't look idle.

"Anyhow, what are you doing here, Jasper?" Lapis asked curiously. "Here to enjoy the view?"

"... Not really," Jasper responded, drumming her fingers on her arm.

"Oh." Well, that was really the only reason Lapis could think off the top of her head as to why Jasper would be out here of all places. "So... why're you out here?"

"... I wanted to hold Rose," Jasper muttered. Lapis looked at her in surprise.

"You mean... Steven?" she asked, obviously confused. She and Rose had spoken so much about Steven as his own person, even when he had still been growing inside of Rose, so it was a bit of a shock to hear Jasper calling Steven by his mother's name.

"Yeah, that," Jasper responded. "Now will you hand her to me or not?"

"Steven's a he, first of all," Lapis responded. "And, second... I really don't think that's a good idea. Human babies are really delicate, they need a careful touch to care for. And you're a bit... well... Rough."

"What, so you're saying I can't _handle_ holding it?"

"_Him_," Lapis corrected again, "and I'm not saying you can't _handle_ it, I'm saying you don't know _how_. Your default is too rough, Jasper, and that wouldn't be good for Steven."

"It's just holding a little human, how hard can it be?" Jasped asked. "Here, just give it to me, I'll show you." She reached out a hand, and Lapis quickly stood, backing away from the larger Gem.

"Jasper," Lapis said in a warning tone. "I don't want you holding Steven. You could hurt him if you don't handle him right."

"I can handle a little human _just fine_," Jasper growled, still advancing. "Just hand it over to me."

"_No_!" Lapis snapped, clutching the baby tighter. "_Rose_ asked me to take care of him and make sure he's safe, and I'm not going to go back on that by handing him over to you when you-"

At the mention of Rose, Jasper seethed, her hand curling up into a fist. And the more Lapis spoke, the more Jasper's temper built. Until at last, she growled viciously and slammed her fist into the side of the cliff.

"Rose isn't here now!" She snapped, breathing heavily as she glared down at her diminutive teammate. Her teeth were gritted, eyes blazing. However, the sound of crumbling rock made her look up, and she jerked as she saw many sizeable chunks of the cliff come tumbling down at them. Lapis thought quickly and pulled water from the ocean, putting it over their heads and forming a thick barrier of water to protect the three of them. The rocks bumped harmlessly off of the water, and landed with various thuds and splashes on the beach around them.

In all of the commotion, though, Steven had woken up, and started crying aloud. Lapis quickly dropped the water barrier and pulled him close, rocking him and shushing him gently to try and lull him back to calm. Jasper looked on, until Lapis gave her one of her most intense stares.

"If Rose _were_ here, do _you _think she would be happy with you putting her baby in danger?" Jasper glared down at her, eyes blazing with anger. In the end, though, she let out a final sort of breath, even her shaking shoulders stilled.

"Fine, I'll leave you both alone then," she said softly, turning heel away from Lapis. "Have fun babysitting like you _promised_." She stomped off through the sand, allowing Lapis enough time to glare at her retreating back before turning back down to Steven and cradling him closer to herself to give him comfort.

–

Rocks were shattering left and right at the impact of Jasper's fists. The stones in this abandoned quarry were no match for her and her anger at the injustice of it all.

_What does Lapis know about what Rose would want anyway?!_ Jasper roared in her mind as she took out a boulder twice her size. _All she ever did was trail after her like a stupid puppy, or else disappear for days or weeks at a time! Now she thinks that little Rose coming around makes things any different than they were?!_ Yet another fell to pebbles. _I was Rose's most trusted soldier! I fought for her on those battlefields, more than anyone! Because I was the strongest! And now Lapis thinks she has the right to think she's the one with the biggest responsibilities now?! Because she thinks I'm not strong enough to handle it?! I! Can! Handle! **Anything!**_

Jasper picked up one boulder and threw it at the wall, letting it shatter as she panted from both exertion and anger. She was just so _angry_. She wanted to wreck up this whole place in her rage until it was nothing but rubble!

As she stood there, though, something seemed to ring at the back of her mind. Something said to her long ago.

_Incredible. You're so strong, Jasper_. _I think you're definitely one of the strongest soldiers here. But... you rely on that so much. You need to spread your talents, or else being strong is all you'll have. You have so much potential, Jasper. I don't want to see it limited just because you only rely on one talent. I know you can do amazing things. You just need to open up. Just a bit more._

Jasper took a look around her, _really_ saw what she had done. The quarry, though not pristine when she had gotten here, was an utter wreck after she had let out her mindless fury on this place. In the red haze of her vision, she hadn't even realized just how much she had been breaking. She looked down at her hands, still clean and hardly dirty, even after all of that.

Her hands weren't made for gentle things. She was a warrior, her whole purpose was to fight and dominate and destroy, all in the name of Homeworld and their cause.

...But then, she wasn't doing _anything_ for Homeworld anymore, was she?

"_Your default is too rough, Jasper, and that wouldn't be good for Steven."_

"...Dangit," she grunted. Jasper curled her hands up into fists, and made her way out of the quarry. Her gait that of a Gem on a mission.

–

At long last, Lapis had managed to lull Steven back to sleep, and now he was waking up again, happy and refreshed from his now peaceful nap. At the very least he had slept soundly this time. Now Lapis contented herself to entertaining Steven by making animal shapes out of the ocean water, loving how simply Steven was entertained by the sparkly floating visages.

"Hey." Her concentration faltered a moment, hearing that voice, but she kept up the animals once she turned to Jasper, to keep Steven giggling.

"Hello, Jasper," she greeted softly. "Back so soon?" The orange Gem grunted, scratching at the back of her head.

"Yeah... So, Lapis..." Lapis said nothing, but kept her eyes on Jasper, indicating that she was listening. "I know I... kinda did... and said that stuff earlier. Stuff I shouldn't have. So... you know... I'm sorry I did all that." Lapis almost couldn't believe her ears. Jasper? Apologizing?

"... I don't want you to be sorry, Jasper," she replied at last. "I just want you to be careful. I mean, I get that you want to know more about Steven, since he's Rose's baby, but... human babies... even if they're half Gem, they're so delicate. You need to take extra care of them, they even need to be held specially... I just want to keep Steven safe. And not just for Rose."

The two Gems sat in silence for a bit, the only sounds being Steven as he giggled at Lapis's effortless ocean-water animal display.

"... D'you think you could show me how, then?" Lapis looked at Jasper, who shifted uncertainly in the sand. "You know... so I'll be able to hold him safely and all that..." The blue Gem looked at her friend, surprised at how uncertain Jasper was being.

In the end, though, she smiled, and turned the way she sat, showing Jasper how Steven lay in her arms.

"Well, the first thing to remember is to support a baby's neck, since they're so delicate..."


End file.
